Paris is a city in
Edgar County, Illinois
Edgar County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 16,866. Its county seat is Paris.
History
Edgar County was formed out of Clark County in 1823. It was named for John Edgar ...
, south of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
and west of
Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
. The population was 8,291 at the 2020 census. It is the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
and largest city of Edgar County.
History
Paris was established in 1826 on land donated by Samuel Vance to be the county seat, and was incorporated as a village in 1849. The town most likely received its name from the word "Paris" carved into a jack-oak tree in the middle of what became the town.
Paris's history includes the service of two brothers, Walter Booth and
Newton Booth
Newton Booth (December 30, 1825July 14, 1892) was an American entrepreneur and politician.
Early life
Born to Hannah (née Pitts) of North Carolina and Beebe Booth , as its mayors in the mid-1850s. Newton Booth later moved west to California, where he served as governor and a U.S. senator.
The
commission form of government was adopted in 1915. In 1907, L. A. G. Shoaff bought the Centralia White Stockings and renamed them the Paris Colts. In 1908 the team was renamed the
Paris Parisians. After the 1908 season the team went under. In the 1950s Paris was home to a minor-league baseball team named the
Paris Lakers
The Paris Lakers were a minor league baseball team based in Paris, Illinois from 1950 to 1959. The Lakers played as members of the Midwest League from 1956 to 1959 and its predecessor, the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League from 1950 to 1955. The L ...
. A contest was held among the community to decide on a name for the team. James C. Dickey's submission, the Paris Lakers, was chosen. The Lakers were the 1956
Midwest League
The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...
Champions and were affiliate of the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
.
Geography
Paris is located at (39.613014, -87.693829).
U.S. Route 150 and
Illinois State Route 1
Illinois Route 1 (IL 1) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Illinois. Running parallel to the Indiana border, the highway starts at the free ferry crossing to Kentucky at Cave-in-Rock on the Ohio River and runs north to the south s ...
pass through Paris. Both
Illinois State Route 16
Illinois Route 16 (IL 16) is an east–west highway in central Illinois. Its western terminus is at the Joe Page Bridge over the Illinois River in Hardin, while its eastern terminus is at Paris at Illinois Route 1 and U.S. Route 150, with ...
and
Illinois State Route 133
Illinois Route 133 is an east–west state highway in east-central Illinois. It runs from Illinois Route 32 in Lovington to U.S. Route 150 and Illinois Route 1 in Paris. Illinois Route 16 terminates with Illinois 133 at this point.Sarjeant, C ...
have Illinois State Route 1 as their eastern terminus. One railroad passes through town, a
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
line that goes north to
Danville and southeast to
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...
.
According to the 2010 census, Paris has an area of , of which (93.39%) is land and (6.61%) is water.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 9,077 people, 3,874 households, and 2,382 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,211 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.31%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 0.51%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.21%
Native American, 0.22%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.01%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 0.25% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 0.48% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 0.84% of the population.
There were 4,137 households, of which 27.7% had children under age 18 living with them, 45.1% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.5% were non-families. 34.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.8% under 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 or older. The median age was 39. For every 100 females, there were 85.9 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.
The median income for a household was $42,446, and the median income for a family was $37,872. Males had a median income of $28,750 versus $20,673 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
was $24,984. About 8.9% of families and 12.7% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 17.2% of those under 18 and 11.2% of those 65 or older.
Education
Paris has two public school districts:
Paris Union School District 95 (for those living inside city limits) and
Paris Community Unit School District No. 4
Paris Community Unit School District No. 4 (Paris CUSD 4) is a school district headquartered in Paris, Illinois. It operates a single school, Crestwood School.
Students in Kindergarten through 8th Grade attend Crestwood School. High school stude ...
(for those outside the city limits). Those in District 95 send their children to Mayo Middle School, while Unit 4 children attend Crestwood School. Both schools feed into one high school,
Paris High School, which until 2009 was under District 95. On July 1, 2009, the renamed Paris Cooperative High School became Illinois's first cooperative high school. The high school celebrated its 100-year anniversary in 2009.
Paris Cooperative High School's mascot is the tiger and its colors are orange and black.
Paris is also the home of Saint Mary's School, a Catholic school serving preschool through 8th grade open to children of all religions. St. Mary's is the only tuition-based private school in Paris.
Fire districts
Paris Community Fire Protection District - This district has five stations, including Paris, which is a full-time paid department. The others are Vermilion, Oliver, Grandview, and Redmon, which are all volunteer departments.
Climate
Climate is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. The
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
subtype for this climate is "
Cfa" (Humid Subtropical Climate).
Climate Summary for Paris, Illinois
/ref>
Notable people
* Lionel Artis
Lionel F. Artis (1895 – 1971) was a civil servant and administrator in the United States. Artis became the first Black person to be appointed to a policy-making municipal agency in Indianapolis when he was a named a member of the Indianapoli ...
, civil servant
* George W. Bristow, Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, lived in Paris
* Shorty Cantlon
William A. "Shorty" Cantlon
(October 8, 1903 – May 30, 1947) was an American racecar
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto r ...
, race car driver
* Ed Carpenter, race car driver, born in Paris
* Alfred M. Craig, Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, born in Paris
* Brett Eldredge
Brett Ryan Eldredge (born March 23, 1986) is an American country music singer, songwriter and record producer, signed to Warner Music Group Nashville. Eldredge has had five No. 1 singles on the ''Billboard'' Country Airplay chart, three of ...
, country music singer, born in Paris
* Jack Franklin
James Wilford Franklin (October 20, 1919 – November 15, 1991) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He pitched in 1 game for the Brooklyn Dodgers during the 1944 season, pitching two innings and giving up three earned runs.
Born in Paris, I ...
, pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...
* Albert Austin Harding, University of Illinois band director, raised in Paris
* George Hunt, Illinois Attorney General
* Alice Moore McComas
Alice Moore McComas (, Moore; June 18, 1850 – December 19, 1919) was an American author, editor, lecturer and reformer. She was a pioneer suffragist in California and served as president of the Los Angeles Equal Suffrage Association. During the v ...
(1850–1919), author, editor, lecturer and reformer
* Richard P. Mills, educator
* Jean Paige
Jean Paige (born Lucille Beatrice O'Hair, July 3, 1895 – December 15, 1990) was an American film actress of the silent era.
Early years
Paige was born in Paris, Illinois, and raised on her father's farm there. She developed a love for hors ...
, silent-film actress
* Troy Porter, plumber and civil rights leader
* Bernie Shively
Bernie A. Shively (May 26, 1902 – December 10, 1967) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He was the athletic director at the University of Kentucky from 1938 until his death.
Shively served as an assista ...
, college football Hall of Fame member and University of Kentucky athletic director
* Benny Shoaff, American race car driver who appeared in two Indianapolis 500 races
* Lee Sholem
Lee Tabor Sholem (May 25, 1913 in Paris, Illinois, – August 19, 2000 in Los Angeles, California) was an American television and film director.
Nicknamed ""Roll 'Em" Sholem", he is identified more than anyone else in the industry with speed a ...
, film and television director, born in Paris
* Abraham L. Stanfield, businessman and politician
* Barbara Stuart, actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
, born in Paris
* Tom Sunkel, pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
, New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
and Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...
. Managed the Paris Lakers
The Paris Lakers were a minor league baseball team based in Paris, Illinois from 1950 to 1959. The Lakers played as members of the Midwest League from 1956 to 1959 and its predecessor, the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League from 1950 to 1955. The L ...
from 1950 to 1954
* Carl Switzer Carl may refer to:
*Carl, Georgia, city in USA
*Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
* Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name
*Carl², a TV series
* "Carl", an episode of te ...
, actor ("Alfalfa" in ''Our Gang
''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the ...
'')
* Harold Switzer
Harold Frederick Switzer (January 16, 1925 – April 14, 1967) was an American child actor, most notable for appearing in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects series as an extra. He was the older brother of gang member Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, one ...
, actor ("Harold" in ''Our Gang
''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the ...
''); older brother to Carl Switzer
* Bill Van Dyke, outfielder for the Toledo Maumees, St. Louis Browns
The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...
and Boston Beaneaters
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most po ...
* Rodney Watson
Rodney Watson (born July 18, 1960) is an American basketball coach and the former head coach for the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles men's basketball, University of Southern Indiana. Watson succeeded Rick Herdes, who resigned following a scandal ...
, men's head basketball coach, University of Southern Indiana
The University of Southern Indiana (USI) is a public university just outside of Evansville, Indiana. Founded in 1965, USI enrolls 9,750 dual credit, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students in more than 130 areas of study. USI offers program ...
* W. H. Lillard, college instructor, Headmaster at Tabor Academy, head football coach at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...
* William Zeckendorf
William Zeckendorf Sr. (June 30, 1905 – September 30, 1976) was a prominent American real estate developer. Through his development company Webb and Knapp — for which he began working in 1938 and which he purchased in 1949 — he developed ...
, real estate developer
Sports teams
*Paris Lakers
The Paris Lakers were a minor league baseball team based in Paris, Illinois from 1950 to 1959. The Lakers played as members of the Midwest League from 1956 to 1959 and its predecessor, the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League from 1950 to 1955. The L ...
, minor league baseball team from 1950 to 1959
*Paris Parisians (Eastern Illinois League)
The Paris Parisians were an Eastern Illinois League baseball team based in Paris, Illinois that played during the 1908 season.
That season, team executive L. A. G. Schoaff was elected president and secretary of the Eastern Illinois League. The c ...
, semi-pro baseball team
* Paris Picaduras, semi-pro baseball team
See also
*Asher Morton Farmstead
The Asher Morton Farmstead is a farm located on Lower Terre Haute Road south of Paris, Illinois, Paris, Illinois. The farmstead was constructed circa 1860 by Asher Morton, an Ohioan who moved to the area in 1850. The farmhouse is an I-house, a ver ...
* Edgar County Courthouse
* France Hotel
* Paris Carnegie Public Library
* Paris Elks Lodge No. 812 Building
*Pine Grove Community Club
The Pine Grove Community Club is a historic community club located at the junction of 1500N and 1300E north-northwest of Paris, Illinois. The club includes two buildings, a brick schoolhouse and a former church. The school was constructed in the la ...
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Populated places established in 1826
Cities in Edgar County, Illinois
Cities in Illinois
County seats in Illinois
1826 establishments in Illinois